RIYADH, 18 February 2006 — The paperwork relating to the release of a Keralite youth, who escaped an eye-for-an-eye punishment in the Kingdom after the victim of his attack pardoned him, is in the final stages. Puthen Veetil Abdul Latheef Naushad, 34, is expected to be out of prison early this week.
According to informed sources, the court in the Eastern Province had released the papers to the governorate, which has forwarded them to the prosecution. The release order will be sent to the Delta Petroleum Company where Naushad was working.
Saudi national Naif Al-Otaibi, who lost an eye following a scuffle with Naushad, pardoned his attacker on Jan. 22. According to a court verdict, Noushad was to pay for the offense with his eye. He has spent three years in jail over the scuffle that began with an argument over a bill at the gas station he worked. The Indian claimed that he acted in self-defense.
